ROBERT W. KEANE, PH.D.

Regulation of Innate Immunity after CNS Trauma

Research Interests

Innate immunity is the first line of defense against pathogens and host-derived signals of cellular stress. The innate immune response engages an array of receptors to detect stress signals and pathogens and activates cells of the adaptive immune response. My research focuses on investigating mechanisms that direct normal innate immunity and its dysregulation in central nervous system injury and disease. Agonists and activation mechanisms of inflammasomes are investigated. Regulatory mechanisms that potentiate or limit inflammasome activation after injury have been indentified, as well as emerging links between innate immunity and Alzheimer’s disease.

Schematic of antibody neutralization of the inflammasome in neurons after CNS injury.